Hey, people! I am surprised and honored to get so many reviews within 1 day of release. I am not going to personally respond to every review, but I will simply say that yes, Shino is going to be out of character for quite a few strange moments.Also, thanks to Cueball for your interesting input about the couples. I'm not sure if I'm going to use them, with so many "traditional" couple fans out there, but I like the way you think. Also, to Blue-Fire310, shounen-ai has crossed my mind, but in a different context. I don't want to give anything away, though. Anyways, on with the show!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters involved. I do, however, own a Sabbaku no Gaara plushie.
The Most Dangerous Game
Chapter 2: The Game is On
10 Genin, one Chuunin, and 4 Jounin were assembled in the Hokage's office. Naruto expressed his curiosity about the matter in a way that only Naruto could: "Nani? Why the hell are we all here, Tsunade-obaa-chan?"
A vein surfaced on The 5th Hokage's face but she forced herself to calm down. She was, after all, in front of other, more distinguished ninja. Besides, her pink-haired apprentice had already done her work for her.
"Itai..."
"Despite the phasing that Naruto chose to use, he does bring up a valid point. You all should know why you are here. Some of you have had past experiences with Kirigakure's seven Shinobi-Gatana, the most deadly kenjutsu masters in the Mist. I have recieved notice from the Mizukage that the remaining five Shinobi-Gatana have all become missing-nin, and are plotting a violent coup upon the Mist government."
"Ne, Tsunade-obaa... sama..." Naruto said as he recieved a death glare from Sakura, "Who are the Shinobi-Gatana?"
"That isn't good, when a question like that comes from you, Naruto." Kakashi, Naruto's sensei, answered. "We fought one of them, remember? And another one is a member of Akatsuki."
"Kakashi is correct," Tsunade regained the floor. "There used to be seven Shinobi-Gatana, but two of them broke off a while ago. One of them, Momochi Zabuza, has been killed, and the other one, Hoshigaki Kisame, is still at large and is one of the Akatsuki Nine. The other five seem to have followed their example. Needless to say, you all have your work cut out for you."
Naruto suddenly took on an uncharacteristically serious expression, as did Sakura. They knew how powerful those swords could be. The other Genin heard Naruto's silence and they, themselves, became quite afraid. Even Shikamaru betrayed a twinge of fear.
"Here are the profiles of the five missing shinobi. I am entrusting one profile to each Jounin, and the remainder will go to Shikamaru." Tsunade handed out 5 pamphlets to the aforementioned people.
"Many lives and an entire government is at stake here. Be careful, and try not to die. You are all dismissed."
"Kuso, how irritating..." Shikamaru said under his breath. Ino heard him.
"Irritating? What happened to troublesome?"
"It's too irritating to say troublesome all the time, so I've switched to irritating."
"But isn't irritating one more syllable than troublesome? Wouldn't it be more troublesome to say irritating than troublesome?"
"...Damn woman, with her logic. How... bothersome..."
Chouji just grinned from ear to ear at his friends' antics as he opened a bag of chips.
"Anou saa, Anou saa, Kakashi-sensei! Who's the guy in the profile? I want to see the face of the guy I'm going to beat up!"
"Naruto, don't be so hasty!" Sakura chided.
"It's alright, let me just open the folder and we'll take a..." Kakashi's visible eye bulged as he saw the all too familiar mask. He had seen this picture before, in a very detailed entry in the Bingo Book.
"Odoruwa..."
"Hm? You say something Kakashi-sensei?"
"His name is Odoruwa. He's an A-Rank criminal in the Bingo Book, only A-Rank because no one knows exactly how strong he really is. I think that he deserves an S under his name."
---
Deep in the swamps of Water Country, a tall, dark man sneezed behind his demonic-looking mask.
"You ok, boss?""Yes," he said. "Never better." He grinned behind the mask, and his subordinate was thoroughly creeped out by the man's behavior.
"You think Odoruwa is acting weird, Kiniro-san?"
"Nah... he's always been creepy like that. Let him enjoy it."
The man named Kiniro stood up and shifted the strange object on his back. The younger one looked down at the ground.
"Sure wish Zabuza and Kisame were here. As a team, we used to be invincible. Now, we're just a bunch of brigands." At this, Odoruwa shot out of his reverie and grabbed the nonbeliever by the throat.
"We never were brigands and we are not brigands now! You would do well to remember that, Raiken." He put Raiken down. "Do you not know who we are, young one? Or have you simply forgotten? We are the shinobi that have taken unimaginable numbers of lives! We were the ones to destroy the Kayuga clan! And we shall be the ones to rule over Kirigakure and the entire Water country! Zabuza was a fool to leave us. Look where he is now! He is a demon in hell! Kisame has been degraded into an errand-boy for the Akatsuki! We do not need fools or weaklings in our ranks."
"Uh... whatever you say... boss..."
---
The 4 teams headed out of Konoha and Hinata was petrified. She hadn't been on an A-Rank mission before! Heck, she hadn't even done a B-Rank mission! How was she supposed to hold herself together on a mission as dangerous as this one? She would just drag others down and become someone to rescue when the time came. She was broken from her self-loathing reverie by her cousin, Neji.
"Hinata-sama."
"N-Neji nii-san! I didn't see you!"
"It is alright, Hinata-sama. I could see the worried expression on your face. You need not worry about getting hurt. I am here to protect you."
"I'm not worried about my safety..."
Neji looked puzzled, so Hinata explained.
"That's the p-problem... I'm just so weak, Neji-nii-san, I always need protection... I want to be strong... I want to..." Hinata mumbled the last few words: "m-make him acknowledge me."
She looked up and saw Naruto walking just ahead of her, trying to make Sakura laugh at him. He was having little success, as always, but then Hinata caught sight of something strange. Shino was walking alongside them, looking as severe as ever. Shino never walked with anyone but his team. Why was he walking with Naruto and Sakura?
Shino could ask himself that same question: Why am I doing this? Sakura and Naruto looked a bit ill-at-ease with him walking beside them, so he decided to fall back into the pack. I need to be a little less conspicuous. I have to conspire... I need help. I have to admit to myself, My inter-personal skills are not the best. I need a face and a voice, and I think I know exactly who to use... The perfect patsy... Hey eyed his puppet-to-be, Konoha's wild green beast, Rock Lee. He had heard that rhetoric before. Perfect.
Lee was, of course, talking in his over-enthusiastic tone to his favorite sensei about protecting his precious people from the Mist-nin. Shino walked up to the young ninja and interrupted his conversation.
"Lee, I would like to talk to you about something."
"Shino?"
Shino was a little irritated that everyone was so surprised at him when he spoke. It wasn't that rare... was it? Nevermind. I have work to do.
"Lee, I need your power of youth." Damn, that sounded stupid.
"YOSH! SHINO-SAN, WHATEVER PROBLEM YOU MAY HAVE, I, ROCK LEE, WILL AID YOU WITH MY OVERFLOWING YOUTHFUL PASSION!"
I can't believe he took the bait so well.
"Lee, I need you to do everything in your power to impress Sakura. Don't go overboard so as to jeopardize the mission, but it would serve my purposes if Sakura fell for you." My battle tactics are amazingly subtle, but it appears it is not so when it comes to my speech. I will have to work on that.
"I don't know why you want me and Sakura together, but I would be more than happy to comply with your request! In fact, I was just about to..." Just tune him out and keep your sanity, Shino. Did the mouth stop moving? Ok. Now, thank him.
"Thank you, Lee." Don't screw this up.
Lee galloped over to the object of his affections and yelled out loudly, "SAKURA-SAN! I SHALL PROTECT YOU WITH MY LIFE!"
Over-enthusiastic as ever. Wait! Is that a smile on her face? Excellent. Shino clasped his fingers together like a mad scientist who had finally completed a creature too horrible for any sane mind to imagine. His outward appearance was that of a normal Shino. He nearly never betrayed any emotions, and this time was no exception. Not even a smirk escaped his lips. Then, what he heard next sent his mind reeling, but not a muscle on his face gave any indication.
"Thanks, Lee. You're a great friend."
Shit.
Lee's face reflected Shino's mood as he began to look to the ground.
"Yeah. A great friend."
Damn it, Lee is out of the running now. When a female says something like that, even I know that the male stands no chance. He was my best bet, too. Now, I have to think of others... Kiba? He'll be pretty broken up about Hinata and Naruto. That could work, but I'm not sure I can trust him. Shikamaru? No, they don't fit. Besides, he has no motivation in the first place. Neji? Hm... wait... I see his eyes... there is no love in that one. Only duty. I have to work on him, and Sakura is a more immediate concern. Chouji? ...Let's just forget I ever mentioned him. I'm not even going to think about the Jounin senseis; that is just sick. That just leaves... Oh, no...
"If you want a job done right, you have to do it yourself, Shino-sama."
Who was that?
"Bug no. 3494283, a.k.a. Oda, reporting, sir."
Ah, Oda. Wait a minute. How are you hearing my thoughts?
"It's a side-effect of the symbiotic relationship, I believe, Shino-sama. We can hear your thoughts. You never had to whisper to us to give us orders. Also, as for me talking, it is related to why your army has been acting strangely lately. We were electing a spokesbug."
A spokesbug?
"Yes, a spokesbug, Shino-sama. It would be rather troublesome to hear over one million little voices chattering at you all at once, so I have been elected to be the voice of the multitude."
That seems fair enough.
"Of course it is fair. Fair for you, and us. We needed to throw our own 2 million cents in, didn't we? And once I was elected, we have come to the consensus that you at least need to give the illusion that you and Sakura are an item. You can tell her, if you like. Who knows? You two might just stick!"
I really don't have any feelings for her, if that's what you're implying, but that plan does seem sound. We could create the façade that we are going out, and when Hinata and Naruto become an item, we can dispel the illusion. It is a foolproof plan, which is why something is bound to go wrong.
As if on cue, two pairs of eyes began to drink in the situation. The mouth under the red pair of eyes spoke.
"Shall we go?"
The mouth under the yellow eyes curled into a sinister smile.
"Not yet. We shall wait for the most opportune moment to strike."
The red eyes shuddered a bit as a tongue grazed his ear. He had never liked this treatment. He didn't particularly like the man behind the yellow eyes, either, but he dare not betray him. Not now, anyway.
He would wait for the most opportune moment to strike.
---
A/N: WHEW! So many glowing reviews; I would like to give thanks to all who read my fic and reviewed. I was motivated to get this out ASAP! Hopefully, this one should be a bit more entertaining. Also, I would like a bit of input as to whether I should make the chapters longer or not. I have read fics with 20 page long chapters, but it would take a while longer to get them out. I really don't know. Anyway, I would like to say here and now that in my opinion, Shino has quite a deep personality when his thoughts are concerned, but he never shows it. I don't think that he should be so silent inside his head, but that's just me. I'm the one writing the fic, anyway! See you next chapter!